The album had been out since January, and, every chance we got, we would scour any store that carried CDs for it. We never found it. I offered to download a digital copy, but Temple refused. When she got this album, she wanted a physical CD that she could hold in her hands. So, for our anniversary, I ordered a copy - a $13 parting gift.
It arrived on our anniversary, and I dropped it off at her house, complete in the bubble wrap. A week, or so, later, we took our trip to New York. The entire drive to the airport in Phoenix, we listened to the album. I asked Temple if she liked it. She said that, right now, it is her favorite album. She listened to it constantly. She said that it was Ingrid Michaelson's best album.
And Temple has all of Ingrid Michaelson's albums. Temple loves Ingrid Michaelson, has for years. And - as with most of the music Temple listens to - I got her into Ingrid Michaelson.
In 2007, I was remodeling a hotel in Pittsburgh. One morning, while I was getting ready for work, I was watching Good Morning, America. The night before was the season finale of Grey's Anatomy - a show that I have never watched to this day. There was a poignant scene, and they chose the music of an unknown musician named Ingrid Michaelson. She had not released an album yet, and the producers had discovered her music on MySpace.
They interviewed Ingrid. She was a brainy beauty with tortoise shell glasses who still lived at home with her parents. There was an innocence and honesty about her, and her music was great. She made me wish that she wanted to become a sisterwife. That day, I became one of her MySpace friends.
A year later, her single "The Way I Am" became a hit on the radio, and I would say with pride that I was a "friend" on her MySpace page before anyone had really heard of her. I introduced the music to Temple, and she loved it. She bought every album afterwards. For a long time, her ringback tone was "Everybody".
As I listened to the album on the way to the airport, I had to concur with Temple. The album is the best album by Ingrid Michaelson to date. The sound is clear. The music is well written. And Michaelson is a superb lyricist. ("We hate the rain when it fills up our shoes/ But we love it when it washes our cars.")
The album starts our great with "Fire", which is a typical song for Ingrid Michaelson. "I'm Through" is a very touching song about dealing with life after a breakup. "Blood Brothers", "Ghost", and "Palm of Your Hand" are very catchy. "In the Sea" is my personal favorite. "End of the World" is a love song about the zombie apocalypse. In truth, there is not a bad song on the album.
On our trip home from New York, we listened to the album for the four hour drive home, and I am still not sick of it. I would recommend this album to anyone.
